Leslie Scanlon, Author at The Presbyterian Outlook

PMA Board asks: What does “congregational vitality” mean for a typical church?

February 12, 2020 by Leslie Scanlon Leave a Comment

BALTIMORE – One of the three emphases of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Matthew 25 initiative is congregational vitality. But what exactly does “congregational vitality” mean for a typical church? During a Feb. 12 session, members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board got a primer on what counts and what doesn’t. “Notice I didn’t say anything about our buildings, our budgets or our butts in the pews,” said Kathryn Threadgill, the coordinator for the Vital Congregations initiative, near the end of her presentation. “Congregational vitality is about spiritual faithfulness” in a 21st century context. So far, 14 presbyteries have participated in the first wave of the 2020 Vital Congregations national project, which provides training and support, and another 12 presbyteries will be part of a second wave starting in January 2021, Threadgill said. Vital congregations are better equipped to do the rest of the work of the Matthew 25 initiative: to play a role in ending … [Read more...]

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Presbyterian Mission Agency Board considers “what comes next” as it starts its Feb. meeting in Baltimore

February 12, 2020 by Leslie Scanlon Leave a Comment

BALTIMORE – As two top policy-making bodies in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) meet Feb. 12-14 in Baltimore, the specter of the 2020 General Assembly and “what comes next” is hanging heavy over these sessions, in discussions on budgets and priorities and new understandings on how to share what resources are available. On Feb. 13, the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board will meet in joint session – a session that will include conversation with some of the key players involved in what’s transpiring, including the co-moderators of the Moving Forward Implementation Commission, Larryetta Ellis and Marco Grimaldo, Also up: representatives from the Special Committee on Per Capita Based Funding and National Church Financial Sustainability, and the 2020 Vision Team. Unified budget The catch phrase for some of what’s changing is “unified budget.” The subtext is: with nudging from the Moving Forward Implementation Commission, … [Read more...]

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Here’s what’s coming to the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly meetings this week

February 11, 2020 by Leslie Scanlon Leave a Comment

Both the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly will be meeting Feb. 12-14 in Baltimore – the same city where the 2020 General Assembly will do its work just a few months from now, from June 20-27. Up for discussion will be some big issues facing the church and the world – including climate change, racism, what makes a congregation thrive, and questions of how, in an era of declining membership, to effectively fund the work of the church. Some sessions will focus on education and training. For example, Kerri Allen and Shanea Leonard will present the findings of the Disparities Experienced by Black Girls and Women Task Force (P.201 Disparities Experienced by Black Women and Girls from GA Task Force Report), discussing such issues as systemic violence against black women and girls; the need for support of LGBTQIA+ identified black pastors and trans black church leadership; and the tendency to “adultify” young black girls – to … [Read more...]

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Step by step, Moving Forward Implementation Commission works to refine potential recommendations

February 4, 2020 by Leslie Scanlon Leave a Comment

The Moving Forward Implementation Commission is moving closer to determining what it will recommend to the 2020 General Assembly – pruning and refining the language of series of proposed recommendations, although it hasn’t taken any formal votes yet. This is kind of a complicated dance, as the commission is signaling the direction in which it intends to go – while still having conversations with top leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) about some of these issues. For example, both the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly are meeting in Baltimore Feb. 12-14 – and Marco Grimaldo, the commission’s co-moderator, will make a presentation at that meeting. During a two-hour conference call Feb. 4, some commission members said they expect pushback to some of their proposals – including the idea of moving the Mission Engagement and Support department from the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) to the Administrative Services Group … [Read more...]

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Moving Forward commission narrows list of final recommendations

January 24, 2020 by Leslie Scanlon 1 Comment

LOUISVILLE – The Moving Forward Implementation Commission is moving closer to finalizing its recommendations to the 2020 General Assembly. During its Jan. 24 meeting in Louisville, the commission formally voted on one recommendation, and reached “agreement in principle” on others, with a final vote to come later via conference call. It’s leaning towards offering comments to the Special Committee on Per-Capita Based Funding and National Church Financial Sustainability – in part explaining how some of the special committee’s potential recommendations on denominational restructuring and creating campaigns to better explain per capita to Presbyterians in the pews could be answered by the commission’s own work. The commission may also draft its own recommendation, in response to ideas the special committee has been considering regarding creating experiments as potential alternatives to the current per capita funding model. That work was part of the special committee’s mandate from … [Read more...]

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Commission members raise questions about possible per capita and restructuring recommendations

January 23, 2020 by Leslie Scanlon 1 Comment

LOUISVILLE – Members of the Moving Forward Implementation Commission voiced reservations Jan. 23 about many of the preliminary recommendations from the Special Committee on Per-Capita Based Funding and National Church Financial Sustainability – among them, a proposal for restructuring the top levels of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the idea of proposing experiments for possible alternatives to the per capita funding system. The commission took no formal votes on the first day of its Jan. 23-24 meeting in Louisville – but the level of skepticism regarding the draft proposals from the special committee was clear, as members raised questions about everything from the cost of the proposals to their effectiveness. “I’m OK with change if there was a good model that made a lot of sense that was clear and easily communicated,” said Mathew Eardley, a commission member from Idaho. But he questioned whether the idea of proposing experiments for alternatives to per capita might … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Moving Forward Implementation Commission • per capita